Ab-o-lencxnck (fnmi the Latin adolexcere, to grow up to), tlie age beiween childhood and manhood.

4doeaticx, homage'to God. The root of the word is the Latin 09, or in, the mouth, ami it implies spoken prayer.

Anvance; Poem by M'Carthy, 179.

Anvknti'rb in Calabria, 305.

dts'chiK1h, the great rival of Demosthenes as an orator, was born in Atheus, B. C. 389. Being banished to Rhodes, he there set up a school of rhetoric.

Ss'chylus, rine of the most famous tragic writers of Greece, was born at Atheus about hundred years B. C. He has been called the father of the Greek stage. He is said to have died in his sixtieth year of a fracture of his skull, caused by an eagle's letting fall a tortoise on his head.

Jtsop, a native of Phrygia, a country in the middle of Asia Minor, flourished about 572 0. C. lie was a slave and deformed, and composed his celebrated Cables for his own amusement. Obtaining his freedom, he made several voyages to Greece, where he lost his life in a quarrel with the people of Delphos.

AFKuri ATicN, a poem, 144.

Affectation of Knowledge, 278.

Aiax, one of the heroes at the siege of Troy, celebrated by Homer. He was second only to Achilles in bravery.

Albi M, from the Latin albus, white, was a white table or register, whereon the decrees of the Romaus were written. It is now used to designate a book for autographs, an artist's sketch-book, &c.

Alexanner the Great, King of Macedon, and conqueror of Asia, was born B. C. 356, and began to reign in his twentieth year. He died in his thirty-third year, of a fever, brought on by intemperate habits. He was, says Seneca, "a cruel ravager of provinces," and "made his happiness and glory to cousist in rendering himself formidable to all mortals."

Alexander Se-ve'rus, Emperor of Rome, was born at Acre in Phoenicia, in 205. The chief event of his reign was a great victory over Artaxerxes, King of Persia. He was murdered, with his mother, in a military sedition, 235. See Gibbon's account of him, p. 144.

Alexannria, a, seaport, situated on a sandy strip of land, running iuto the Mediterranean, and the ancient capital of Lower -Egypt j founded by Alexander the Great, who peopled it with Greeks, B. C. 332. Here was a famous library, stored with from live hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand volumes; a large number of which were burnt during the siege of the city by Julius Casear, B. C. 47. The library was afterwards partly restored, 1

but was finally destroyed by the Saracens^

A. D. 642 ; when, it is said, the aumeroof

volumes supplied fuel during six months for four thousand baths. Opposite to Alexandria was the small isle of Pharos, now joined to the main land by a causeway. Here stood a celebrated lighthouse of white marble, and deemed one of the seven wonders of the world. Its light could be seen at a distance of one hundred miles. From the name of the isle on which it stood, Pharos became a common appellation for all light-houses. The trade of Alexandria was greatly reduced by the discovery of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, A. D. 1497; but the town still has a population of about seventeen thousand souls, and a growing trade. There was once a celebrated amphitheatre at Alexandria, where cruel games were exhibited.

Gladiatorial Combat with a Tiger, p. 94.

Alexannrine. The verse of twelve or thirteen syllables; so called from an ancient French poet, who first used it.

Alfren the Great, born 849, died 901, was the greatest king that England can boast; distinguished for his learning, wisdom, justice, moderation, and piety. Character, by Dickeus, 244.

Al'legort (from the Greek words, alio, another thing, and egoreo, I declare) is in literature a continued metaphor ; a metaphor being the representation of one thing by another. Fables are a species of allegory. Some of the parables of the Bible are allegories. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most famous of allegories.

The Two Palaces, an Allegory, p. 219.

Allston, Washington, one of the greatest painters that America has produced, w:is born at Charleston, S .C., 1779, and died in 1843, at Cambridge, Mass., where he long resided. He was a man of remarkable genius, and while in Europe was the friend of Coleridge and other eminent men. He was a devout Christian. "His belief," says Mr. Dana, " was in a Being as infinitely minute and sympathetic in his providences, as unlimited in his power and knowledge." Mr. Allston showed much ability as a poet and essayist. Anecdote by, 78.

Amateur (amatflr, or, according to the French pronunciation, amatur1; the u as in murmur, and the accent 0'I the last syllable), a lover of any art or science, and not a professor.

America, a vast continent, discovered by Columbus, in the year 1492, but subsequently named from Amerk'us Yespuo cius. An honor that clearly belonged tc Columbus was thus given to another. How this was brought about, or "K-ho first
gave the n*me, is not now accurately known. Alexander Von Humboldt, who ■tudied the question closely, ascribed the general reception of the name America to its having been introduced into a popular Work on geography, published in 1507.

Discovery by Columbus, 18S, 191.

On Taxing the Colonies, 207.

Progress of, by Burke, "269.

The American Union, 271. Amphitheatre- (from the Gr. ampki, about, and theatron, a seeing-place), in antiquity, a spacious edifice of a circular or oval form, having its area encompassed with rows of seats, one above another, and used for gladiatorial and other shows. See p. 386.

Am — I-:. This word (says Trench) plainly atlirms of itself that amusement must first be earned. It is from a, without, and musis, the Muses, who, it must lie remembered, were the patronesses, in old time, not of poetry alone, but of history, geometry, and all other studies as well. What shall we, then, say of those who would fain have their lives to be all u amusement," or who claim it otherwise than as this temporary withdrawal a musis (from the Muses)? The very word condemns them. See Muses.

Anal'ogy (from the Gr. ana, and logos, according to rule, or proportion), a relation of similarity between different things in certain respects. Adj., analogous.

Anecnote (from the Gr. a, not, ek, from, and dotos, given; meaning, originally, something not yet given out, or divulged to the world); any little story or incident told or narrated.

Anecdotes and Incidents, 278.

Ancient Mariner. In Coleridge's poem under this title, the mariner is guided to his own country by angelic spirits, who "stood as signals to the land, each one a lovely light," 398.

An'gelo, Michael Buon&rotti, the greatest of Italian artists, alike eminent in painting, sculpture and architecture; no Imd poet, and a noble-hearted man. Born at Chiusi, in 1474; died at Borne, in 1564. Anecdote of, 278.

»N'ilx (from the L. angulus, a corner). When one line stands upon another, so as not to lean more to one side than to another, both the angles which it makes with the other are called right angles. All right angles are equal to each other, being all equal to ninety degrees, making the quarter of a circle.

Asimal'cula, a minute animal, generally one that can be discerned only by aid of the microscope.

Ammals, on Cruelty to Brute, 195.

A. D., or Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord, affixed to dates, signify so many years from the birth of our Saviour.

Axon', Us an adverb, soon, by and fty, ever and anon, now and the a. Anon., with a period at the end, is an abbreviation for anonymous.

Awon'yicous (from Che Or. i, not, and

on&na, a name), without a name ; harmless. A book or writing is said to bt anonymous when the author's name is suppressed.

A C., or Ante Christum, affixed to dates, signify so many years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

A. M. These initials may stand for ante meridiem, before noon; artium magister, master of arts; and anno mundi, in the year of the world.

Asti'qcity (from the L. antiquus or anticus, ancient, which is from ante, before), the times of old.

Antipones (au-tip'o-dez), from the Greek anti, agaiust, opposed to, and pous, a foot; those people who, living on the other side of the globe, have their feet directly opposite to ours. Do not mispronounce this word, as many do, by making the last five letters of it one syl lable iustead of two.

Appetite (from the Latin appetera, to seek after), though used for desire generally, is oftener applied to the desire of food, hunger.

Apologue (from the Gr. apo, from, and logos, a saying), a fable or fiction, of which the object is moral. See Fable. Select Apologues, 72. Apologues in Verse, 286.

Apos'tro-phe (Gr. apo, from, and strophe, a turning). In rhetoric, a figure of speech by which the orator or writer suddenly breaks off from the previous method of his discourse, and addresses, in the second person, some person or thing, absent or present. For the use of the word in grammar, see p. 49. Satan's Apostrophe to the Sun, 349.

April. The fourth month of the year. The name is probably derived from the Lat. apcrirn, to open from the opening of the buds, or of the earth in ploughing.

Aquenuct (Lat. aitua, water, and ductus, a leading). A conduit (Uon'dit), or channel, for conveying water from one place to another.

Aql'a Clacnia, a famous aqueduct in Roine, begun by the Emperor Nero in the first century of the Christian era, and finished by Claudius. It conveys water from a distance of thirty-eight miles. For thirty miles it forms a subterranean stream, and for seven miles is supported on arcades (series of arches). Such was the solidity of its coustruction, that it continues to supply modern Rome with water to this day. See p. 217.

Arbithart, bound by no rule or law.

Arcanian, pertaining to Arcadia, a mountainous part of ancient Greece, where the inhabitants led simple pastoral lives, aud cultivated music.

Archimkuks (Ar-ki-me'des), account of, 275.

Architect (Gr. archt, chief, and tektun, a worker). A chief workman or builder; one skilled in designing buildings: thus
architecture Is the art of building according to certain proportious and rules. A-re'n-a. A Latin word, originally meaning snnd, but applied to that part of the amphitheatre in which the gladiators Knight, which was covered with sand, W.

Amox, an ancient Oreek bard and performer on the citliern, or gittern, a stringed Iustrument similar to the guitar. His life being threatened by pirates at sea, he is fabled to have played on his cithern, and then, with a prayer to the gods, to have leaped into the sea, where a song-loving dolphin received him on his back, and bore him safely to the shorti, 295.

Aristar'uhuh, the greatest critic of antiquity. He flourished '1. C. 156. Hia criticisms were so severe that his name has Income proverbial, 342.

Aiustotlb, often called the Stagyrite, from Bta^'lra, a town of Macedonia, where he was born, 384 B. C., was a pupil of Plato and a preceptor of Alexander the Great. He was one of the most influential of the philosophers and writers of ancient Greece, and a good part of his works still exist. His doctrines are sometnnes styled the Aristotelian philosophy. He died 323 B. C. See p. 31i,

Arithmrtic (Gr. arittnnos, number), the science of numbers, 124.

Arsnt, from the German of, 360.

Articulation explained, 14, 27.

Asine. In dramatic writing, a character is supposed to utter a remark aside when he does not mean that the other jwrsous of the drama, who may be present, shall hear it.

Asinine (as'i-nlne), resembling an ass.

Ass. The Ass and the Lamb, 67.

Aspan'agus, a Greek word, meaning the first bud or sprout; now applied to a wellknown garden vegetable.

Assize (from a Latin word meaning ro sit) is the periodical session held by the judges of the superior courts in the counties of England. The plural form, assizes, is popularly used.

Asthma (Gr. asthmaino, I breathe hard). A disease the leading symptom of which is ditliculty of breathing.

Astonishen (from the L. ad, to, and tono, I thunder) meaus originally struck with thunder.

Astronomy (Gr. tutron, a star, and nomos, a law). The science which treats of the celestial bodies.

Astronomy and Immortality, 150, 224.

Asylum (Gr. a, without, suli, plunder). A place to which those who fled were free from harm; a sanctuary. The modern use of the word differs from the ancient.

Rthrist (Gr. a, without, theoz, God). One who marlly denies the existence of a God. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." Take away this belief in God wholly from man,— let him have been subjected to none of the influences from society and his fellow-men which the belief produces,— and " the man will have

vanished, and you have Instea. t a crea* ure more subtle than any beast of the field; upon the belly must it go, and dust must it eat all the days of its life."

Athens, the most celebrated city of Greece, once the great world metropolis of philosophy and art; mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. It is the capital of the modern kingdom of Greece, 128.

At'mosphere (Gr. atmos, vapor, and sphai ros, a sphere). The fluid which surrounds the earth, and cousists of air and vapor of water. The air is composed of two gases, onygen and nitrogen, mixed in the proportion of one of the former to four of the latter. Animals caunot live in nitrogen, nor can flame burn in it, separated from onygen. See pp. 206, 362, 404.

Atone. To be, or cause to be, at one ; to reconcile j to make amends.

Aunuron, John James, a native of Louisiana, and celebrated for his published collection of drawings, under the title of the "Birds of America." He was educated in art at Paris, under the great painter David. Died 1851.

Disappearance of Indiaus, 302.

Adgust. The eighth month of the year; so named from

Augustus Caisar, the first Roman emperor He was born B. C. 63. Literature and the arts flourished remarkably under his reign.

Aurora.. In the ancient Mythology the

goddess of the morning. Autumn. This word is said to be derived

from the Latin auction, increased, be

cause the wealth of man is augmented, by

the fruits of harvest. Poetry of Autumn, 374. Avalanche (from the French avaler, to

descend). A mass of snow sliding down a

mountain.

Avehage, a mean number, or quantity.

Barel, or Babylon, an ancient city and province of Asia, on the Euphrates. The city was probably on the site of the fam ous tower of Babel; and its present ruins cousist of fused masses of brick-work, kc It stood on a large plain; and its walla formed an exact square, each side of which was fifteen miles long. There were one hundred gates, twenty-five in each of the four sides, all of which were of solid brass, as Isaiah bears witness, ch. 45. v 2. "I will break in pieces the gate* of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron." Babylon was taken by Cyrus, the Persian monarch, B. C. 53S; and the Babylonian empire was destroyed, as the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah had predicted. Cy rus, who was the destined conqueror of Babylon, was foretold by name aboTe one hundred years before he was boin. Isaiah 45: 1—4. See pp. 164, 217.

Bacchanal, a drunken reveller ; from Bacchus, the deity of wine.

Bacon, Francis, Lord, was born in Loudo» in 1561; died 1626. He was a great

to&Ooa tphcr, and the roost learned man of Jais day; but his career teaches the moral lesson that the tree of knowledge is not the tree of life. He held the office of High Chancellor, but showed himself morally unlit for it, 312 Baillie, Joanna, listinguished as a dramat- ic writer; b. in Scotland, 1765; d. 1850. First Voyage of Columbus, by, 191. Batazet, a warlike but tyrannical Sultan of Turkey, who succeeded to the throne in 1389, having strangled his rival brother. He died 1403. See p. 255. Banceoft, Geo., extract from, 193. Banvant. A very large tree of India. It seeds down roots from its branches, and those roots, striking into the gronnd, them- selves become trunks.

lines on, by T. Moore, 311. Ban, to prevent, obstruct. Ba'shan. In scriptural geography, the land east of the Jordan, and north of Gil- ead ; celebrated for its rich soil and fat cattle, especially its breed of bulls. Bastile (basteel'), a noted fortress in Paris,- built in the fonrteenth century, and de- stroyed by the populace in 1789. See p. 60.

Bayonet, so called from having been first made at Bayonne, in France.

Bays, the plural of bay, the laurel-tree ; ap- plied to a crown or garland bestowed on warlike or literary merit.

Bradle (from the root of to bid), a messen- ger - in .England a parish officer, whose business is to punish petty offenders.

B. C. These initials attached to dates sig- nify " before Christ."

Beouine. The Beguinea were a class of women in Germany and the Netherlands, of piuus and secluded habits, similar to the nuns, except that they took no vows.

Bet.l. The derivation of this word is curi- ous; it is from the Anglo-Saxon bellan, to bellow.

Belvidere (from the Lat. bellus, fine, and video, I see). In Italy this name is given to the cupolas on palaces, from which a fine prospect may be had. It is also the name of a part of the Vatican (the ancient palace of the Popes in Rome), where the *amons statue of Apollo, known under the name of Belvidere, is placed. This statue is believed to be the most perfect ever made. The artist's name is un- known. In Italian the word is pro- nonnced in fonr syllables, Bel-ve-d&'-re.

Benefactor (from the L. bene, well, and factor, a doer), one who confers a bene- fit.

Bengal' (the a as in fall) is the most east- ern province of Hindostan', lying on each side of the Ganges.

Bsresina (Ber-e ze'na), a river of Russia. The Passage of, by the French. 326.

Bes'tiaav, one who fonght with wild beasts at the ancient spectacles.

Beacttful, The, a poem, 261. Ministry of the, 317.

Billets, pieces of wood, cut with a bill, or * beaked axe, so called from its resemblan'tfl to the bill of a bird.

Bivouac (biv'wak). This word is derived from the Lat. bis, twice, and the German wache, a guard, and signified originally a guard to keep watch during the night. To bivonac is to remain as a guard all night, withont tents or covering. The word is sometimes spelled with a final k.

Blackstone, Sir YVm., an eminent lawyer, b. at London 1723, d. 1780. His " Com- mentaries on the Laws of England" il 'still a legal text-book.

Boatswain (in seamen's language b5'sn), an officer on board of certain ships, who has charge of the rigging, boats, &e.

Board of Health. The term board is ap plied to any body of individuals intrusted, for public or private purposes, with the management of any business or specula- tion. It is the province of the Board of Health in cities to provide against con- tagions diseases, &c.

Bodleian. The library of Oxford, England, under this name, is so called from Sir Thomas Bodley, who died in 1612, and who did much for its fonndation.

Bomrast. This word is of the same origin as bombasin, and once meant linen sewed together with flax between, to swell it ont. Hence it was applied to a tumid, inflated style, in which sonnd predomi- nates over sense.

Bonapaete, Napoleon, was born in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean, belonging to France, on the fifteenth August, 1769 He was at the military school of Brienne from 1779 to 1784, when lie went to Paris. In 1786 he commenced his military career, which was the most wonderful of modern times. In 1804 he became Emperor of France. After remarkable reverses, he was defeated by the allied armies under Wellington, at Waterloo, June 18, 1815. He surrendered himself to an English squadron, and was bronght to Plymonth, whence he was removed to St, HelS'na, a barren island in the Atlantic Ocean, where he died May 5th, 1821. An Early Riser, 226. Character of, by Lamartine, 393. Napoleon as a Student, 396.

Bonnivard, Francois de, b. 1496, d. 1570, was the prior of a convent near Geneva, in Switzerland, and one of the most stren uons supporters of the liberty of his conn try. He was seized and imprisoned by the Duke of Savoy in the castle of Chillon, at the eastern extremity of the Lake of Geneva, where he remained from 1529 till 1536, when he was liberated by his conntrymen. The traces 'eft by his .steps on the pavement of his cell are still seen. Acconnt of, by A. Dumas, 142.

Bonum, the Latin for good; aummum bonum, the chief good.

Bonus, a premium for a privilege.

Bouks. The inner bark of treed was »*u:

and for writing on. In England, many hundred yeam ago, people used to write Upon the bark of the beech-tree, which they ciilled hue. We have not changed the word much. St-.. Library. Th .uiiui un Books, 397.

Boom (fr-.m the Danish bomme, a drum), to uiak-; a ttuUe like the roar of the waves, or a distant gun.

Boons (from the Lot. tonus, or Fr. fron), a giit, a favor.

Boulogne (IJoo-16n'), * seaport of France on the English Channel.

Bol•qcet (boo-kaOt a nosegay.

Bow, the curved part of a ship forward. When it has this meaning it is prononnced ■o as to rhyme with cow.

Bowkinc, John, his translation of Derzhavin's ode, 153.

True Conrage, by, 242.

Brahmin, the highest or priestly class, among the Hindoos.

Uuvx Man, The, translated from the German of Burger, 165.

Brazikk, an artificer in brass.

Bkkw.-tkk, Sir David, an emlneht philosopher of Sc .Hand, b. 1781. He was the inventor of that optical toy, the Kaleidoscope.

Barbarism of War, by, 303.

Bridewki.1., a honse of correction for disorderly persons so called from the palace near Bridget's well iu London, which was turned into a work-honse.

Brooke, Henry. The Lion, &c., by, 139.

Brooks, C. T., Translations by, 83, 4J2.

Brougham, Jletiry, Lord, disgnguished as a statesman, man of letters, and philosopher; born in Scotland. He entered Parliament in 1810. On Science, by, 441. The Schoolmaster Abroad, by, 209. On the Pleasures of Science, 441.

Browne, J. R., The Whale Chase, by, 400.

Brlte, Robert, one of the most heroic of the Scottish kings, and the deliverer of Scotland from the English yoke-, b. 1274, d. 1320.

Bruin, a familiar name given to the bear, from the Fr. brun, brown.

Bbutus, Lucius Junius, known as the first lirutus, received his surname of Jlrutus, or brute, from feigning idiocy in order to escape the tyranny of Tarquin, a king of ancient Rome. Lucrelia, a lady of great furity, having been grossly abused by Sextus Tarquiu, lirutus threw off his pretended idiocy, and ronsed the Romans to expel their king and establish a republic. As consul, he afterwards sentenced his two sons tu death for crimes against their conntry. See p. 308. Marcus Junius lirutus, celebrated by Shakspeare, was a descendant of the first Brutus, 350.

Buree, Edmund, a writer, orator, and Btatesman, of great eminence. Born in Ireland, 1780 ; died 1797. He was one oi the greatest masters of English style; an amiable and religions man in private life, and exemplary in his domestic and social duties. See character of, by Hazlitt, and Grattan, 245, 246.

Extracts from his Speeches, 146, 268, 269.

Bcenrt, Gilbert, Bishop of Salisburyt wai born in Scotland, 1643 ; d. 1714. He was the author of a History of the Reformation. 226.

Burrington, E. H., Lines by, 264.

Burton, W., Learning to Write, 87.

Bushmen. A name given by the Dutch colonist-? to some roaming tribes akin to the Hottentots, in the. vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope. They are of a dark copper complexion, and small in stature. So deep are they sunk in barbarism, as to be unacquainted even with the construction of huts or tents, 119.

Bv and By. The proverb, p. 64, IT 2, is directed against the habit of procrastination; of putting off what onght be done at once till " by and by."

Byron, Lord George Gordon, an English nobleman, of great but misapplied talents. He was born in the year 1788, and died in Greece, in 1824. See p. 148. Ambition, by, 100. The Guilty Conscience, 258. Ancient Greece, 310. A Storm on the Monntains, 333. The Colossenm, by, 388.

Carinet, in politics, the governing conncil of a conntry ; so called from the cabinet or apartment in which the Chief Magistrate transacts public business, and assembles his privy conncil. In the United Suites the members of the President's Cabinet are the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the IjTavy, the Interior, the Postmaster General, and the Attorney General.